August 19, 2010

3 Ways Facebook Places Could Assist You Being “Salt & Light”

I’ve just finished watching the Facebook Live Event where they announced a new service, Facebook Places. Facebook Places takes advantage of the GPS technology available in most smart phones and allows users to “check-in” to places and attribute their news, photos, etc., to that particular place. This service will be available to some US users within hours via an update to their iPhone App and via their Touch Facebook Site. You can read more about it on the official Facebook Blog.

An important remark was made during the presentation by the VP of Facebook:

“Technology does not need to estrange us from one another…”

Basically, Facebook’s intention with Places is to allow users to connect with each other in the real world when they’re away from their home or workplace. Interestingly, this was one of the issues many Christians have with social media; that it deforms and replaces real-world relationships. Facebook Places may help, and after watching the LIVE stream, here are 3 ways I think Facebook Places could assist Christians as they seek to be “salt and light” in the world around them.

1. Reconnect with old friends for real.

Facebook has allowed people to connect with old friends from high school, an old job, or those you’ve lost contact with after moving house. The problem with Facebook in its present form, is this “reconnection” is normally limited to the online world via messages, chats, and wall posts.

Now with Facebook Places, if you walk past a coffee shop, restaurant, or any public place where one of your “old friends” has “checked-in”, you’ll be notified. You can then walk up to them, face-to-face, have a coffee, and connect for real.

Aside from a re-kindled friendship, you now have a genuine opportunity to be salt and light, speaking of Christ and what He has done.

2. Share your church experience with your un-churched friends.

Un-churched? I’m referring to those who have not grown up in the church, or not had exposure to the church. That was me when I grew up, and is the case for many of my generation (at least in Australia).

Sadly, Christians can find it hard to say they were at church on Sunday when asked by a friend or co-worker, “How was your weekend?” This shouldn’t be the case, especially as the fear associated with talking about your life in Christ is often unfounded. In our weakness, Facebook Places could offer a way to help (but by no means be a replacement).

As you and other Christians “check-in” to church on a Sunday, or a Wednesday night study, all your friends will get a glimpse into your church experience. They’ll see where you spend your time, and that every Sunday, morning and night, you’re at church. It may open the door for further discussion, especially if you’ve just walked into the coffee shop they’re in (see point one). You’ll be surprised how many of the un-churched are happy to speak about Christianity and “church stuff”, even if they have to bring it up.

3. Encourage those walking by to visit your church.

You may have experienced a friend rejecting your invitation to church. Maybe they said yes, visited once, and then never returned. For many, the idea of going to church on a Sunday morning and forsaking a sleep-in is next to crazy. That said, there are those out and about on a Sunday morning, and especially the afternoon / evening, going for a jog, walking the dog, playing in the park. If your church meets in a more urban location, it is even more likely some of your friends are out and about near you at those times.

Imagine if when one of your friends happened to be in the area when you “checked-in” at church, they were notified. They might then decide to take you up on the offer you made previously, or return for a second visit.

This raises the question; would your church be happy for someone who was out for a jog, sweating and in jogging gear, to come in and hear the goods news of the gospel proclaimed?

To be continued…

There is much more that needs to be considered. There will no doubt be many ways this technology will be abused and concerns regarding user privacy. If you’re interested, here are some essential tips to adjust your privacy settings. I’ll likely visit this subject again once I’ve used it and it has been tested more fully.

Social media and online relationships should never replace or be a substitute for real-world relationships. Being “salt and light” cannot be restricted to pixels. However, Facebook Places may be a way to assist you being “salt and light” in a lost and dying world that desperately needs to hear about Jesus Christ.

Don’t forget to join the discussion on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or add your thoughts in the comments below.

Update:

Here is the video demo Facebook streamed during their live announcement.

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July 23, 2010

The Gospel – The Doctrine I Struggle The Most To Believe

For those not following Tweology, each week there is a “Tweology Challenge”. This week’s challenge asked:

What Christian doctrine do you believe but struggle the most to believe and why?

There were many interesting responses to that question. Topics included:

  • election
  • predestination
  • the problem of evil
  • Hell
  • Christ returning as both fully God and fully man
  • the Trinity.

Despite the validity of the above doctrines and others, there’s a sense, for example, where I can understand why a holy God would send rebellious and wicked creatures to a place of eternal conscious punishment. Furthermore, there’s also a sense where I expect nothing else from God than that He be totally sovereign, after all, He is God. The doctrine I most struggle to believe isn’t amongst those listed nor is it amongst the minutiae of theology. The doctrine I struggle the most to believe is the good news…the Gospel!

How could a Holy God ever set His love upon wicked sinners? Nothing compelled Him. He was self-sufficient in and of Himself. We all deserve Hell and He is just when He sends us there.

By the grace of God and the enabling of His Spirit I do believe that the God-man suffered in the place of wicked men, died and then rose again, ascended to the right-hand of the Father, and now intercedes on behalf of sinners as their Great High Priest. Yet, every fibre of my sinful being wants to deny my need for that Great Saviour, at every turn whispering that there is power in my “good” works, and in the words of Frank Sinatra, that I can do it “my way”. It’s a lie. I do need Him. My “good” works are nothing but filthy rags. Hell is the destination at the end of “my way”.

I thank God that He did indeed die for sinners and that I do believe it. I’m freely justified on account of Christ.

“’Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…’” – John 6:68b

Do you believe the good news of what God has done in the person of Jesus Christ? If not, repent and believe it today. Then find a church where you’ll hear this good news proclaimed from the Word of God each and every week.

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July 20, 2010

Sola Fide & Your Comfort

Christian, take comfort in Christ’s ability to save and not in your ability to believe. J. Gresham Machen says:

“…salvation by faith does not mean that we are saved because we keep ourselves at every moment in an ideally perfect attitude of confidence in Christ. No, we are saved because having once been united to Christ by faith, we are his forever. Calvinism is a very comforting doctrine indeed. Without its comfort, I think I should have perished long ago in the castle of Giant Despair.”

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Justification & Your Response to the Law

As a Christian, what is your response to the demands of the law? Darryl Hart posted an edifying excerpt from Petrus Dathenus’ The Pearl of Christian Comfort on the grounds of the Christians’ assurance.

For even though the law requires perfect righteousness from believers, they refer the demanding law to Christ, in whom they have become the righteousness of God; that is, a righteousness that is acceptable to God (Col. 1:14). If the law demands that believers shall pay for their sins, they refer the law again to Christ who has completely fulfilled all the demands of the law that He also blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, nailing it to His cross (Col. 2:14). That is, He canceled them so that the law can no longer condemn us, no more than it can condemn Christ unto whom we are united, seeing that Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). Paul is therefore correct when he says, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15: 55-57). This proves that in Christ we are not only set free from the strength of the law and of sin, but also from the power and dominion of death and hell.

From this proceeds the spiritual glorying and confidence of Paul, when he exclaims, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?” (Rom. 8:33-34).

HT: Heidelblog

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June 14, 2010

Calvary Continually Cuts You Down To Size

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

- John R. W. Stott, Message of Galatians, 179.

HT: Zach Nielsen

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June 11, 2010

Video: Getting The Gospel Right

Thanks to R. Scott Clark for linking to this video where Jon Bushnell discusses getting the gospel right.

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June 1, 2010

Are We Called To “Live The Gospel”?

Michael Horton says no as this confuses Law and Gospel:

…we often hear calls to “live the Gospel,” and yet, nowhere in Scripture are we called to “live the Gospel.” Instead, we are told to believe the Gospel and obey the Law, receiving God’s favor from the one and God’s guidance from the other. The Gospel–or Good News–is not that God will help us achieve his favor with his help, but that someone else lived the Law in our place and fulfilled all righteousness.

Read the entirety of Horton’s article The Law & The Gospel to see other ways we often confuse these categories and the importance of getting the Law / Gospel distinctions right.

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May 27, 2010

The Gospel Is For Losers!

In the age of the celebrity, Tullian Tchividjian reminds us that the gospel isn’t for the elite, but shockingly, the gospel is for losers! Consider Tullian’s words from his latest book Surprised by Grace (pp.103-104):

“People were offended back when media mogul Ted Turner called Christianity ‘a religion for losers’ (he later expressed regret for that and similar remarks). But the fact is, in one sense Ted Turner was exactly right. Christianity is for losers.

For a long time, we Christians have spent time and energy and money trying our best to convince the world we’re cool, and that we’re winners. And in our world, cool means being just as prominent and prosperous, just as smart and stylish, just as successful and savvy as anybody else. Just look at how Christians swell with pride when a successful athlete or actor or politician professes his faith. It’s as if we shout to everyone, ‘See! This guy has everything, and he’s a believer—so Christianity has to be cool.’ We want to parade these celebrities and their faith before the world.

In Too Good to Be True, Michael Horton asks, ‘Have you ever seen a janitor interviewed for his testimony?’ The reason we haven’t is that God-fearing janitors don’t represent strength or intelligence or coolness in our culture. They’re viewed as less valuable than the famous entertainer or the sports star or the rising politician. And we, as the church, have adopted the same categorization.

The gospel, however, is not just for the all-star and the illustrious and the legendary. It’s for the loser. It’s for the defeated, not the dominant. It’s for those who realize they’re unable to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders—those who’ve figured out that they’re not gods. It’s for people who understand the bankruptcy of life without God. It’s for people who recognize that while they’re definitely deficient, God is more than sufficient.”

Click here to find out how you could win a free copy of the newly released Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels OR buy a copy here.

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May 24, 2010

God’s Massive Mercy – Jesus Is The Storm

In Surprised by Grace (pp.51-52) Tullian Tchividjian reminds the reader once again of God’s grace as he reflects on the storm Jonah faced:

This storm tells us that God spares no expense in going after those who run away.

God could easily have raised up someone else to do the work Jonah refused. It’s not like the Lord’s hands were tied or that after sending the storm he kept his fingers crossed, hoping his unruly servant would at last respond. God is never in such weakness. He’s always in the position of authority and control, whether or not we realize it.

The supreme example of this massive mercy is Jesus. The incarnation of Christ tells us most emphatically how God spares nothing in going after those who run away. God’s becoming man is anything but a quiet and subtle response from God to our running from him. It’s a huge and loud statement. It shouts to us that God confronts human flight in the most outspoken, powerful way.

Of all the world’s religions, only in Christianity does God become one of his creatures. God becoming human? That’s massive, deafening—anything but subtle. Jesus is really God’s “great wind,” his “mighty tempest” in response to human running and rebellion. Jesus is the storm. Jesus is God’s gracious intervention for those who are enslaved to themselves. He comes loudly, not subtly, with an aggressive affection to pursue fugitives like you and me.

Click here to find out how you could win a free copy of the newly released Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels OR buy a copy here.

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May 21, 2010

Can The Gospel Be Found In The Stars?

R. Scott Clark answers a resounding “no” and I’m thankful for his clarifying voice. I’ve been surprised to hear this kind of thinking by some Reformed Christians.

“Fundamental to the “gospel-in-the-stars” error is its implicit confusion of nature for grace and its implicit confusion of law and gospel. According to the Apostle Paul in Rom 1-2 nature reveals only God’s existence and his righteous justice and coming judgment. There is no gospel in the command: “do this and live” whether it is revealed in nature, in the covenant of works, or at Sinai. Law is law. It never becomes gospel. It never says, “Christ shall do for you” or “Christ has done for you.” The law is relentless and ruthless. The law says, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything which is written in the book of the law.” (Gal 3:10). That is essentially a different word from: “Come to me all who are burdened and I will give you rest.” According to God’s Word as confessed by the Reformed (and Lutheran) churches, we only know the gospel from special revelation (grace) not from nature or law.”

You can read his whole article here.

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